Accenture to Expand its Advanced Analytics Capabilities with Acquisition of i4C Analytics

Accenture (News - Alert) (NYSE:ACN) has entered into an agreement to acquire i4C
Analytics, an advanced analytics software platform provider based in
Italy that specializes in helping clients solve complex business
problems through easy to use analytics applications. The acquisition
will strengthen Accenture's capabilities to quickly offer tailored,
industry- and function-specific analytics applications that clients can
use to drive business decisions and deliver positive outcomes. i4C
Analytics will be integrated into Accenture Analytics, part of Accenture
Digital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

i4C's unique Application Configuration Environment (ACE) will enhance
Accenture's existing advanced analytics solutions. ACE offers a scalable
platform that enables the agile development of Advanced Analytics
Applications (AAAs), turn-key industry- and function-specific solutions
that enable accelerated time to insight, action and achieving business
outcomes. The applications can be designed and built in a short amount
of time, and integrate fully with clients' workflow processes to shorten
the time from data intake to decision output.

The applications are flexible, easily-tailored and agile, providing
clients with immediate access to the tools they need to make timely
analytics-based decisions to solve their complex business problems,
improving customer interactions and enterprise operations along their
journey towards digital transformation. Accenture will use the mature
platform to start building new, advanced analytics apps across the
different industries and business functions the company serves.

"In a market where apps are everything, our analytics-savvy clients are
looking to Accenture to help them get from data to decisions as quickly
as possible. The acquisition of i4C Analytics is designed to help them
do this in a fast, flexible and targeted manner," said Narendra Mulani,
senior managing director of Accenture
Analytics, part of Accenture
Digital. "The days of bulky advanced analytics solutions that take
time to create and are expensive to maintain are gone. With i4C, we will
be able to build apps quickly and ensure they are as easy as possible
for clients to access, understand and action insights based on relevant,
timely data."

Founded in 2002 and based in Italy, i4C utilizes industry and business
process-specific predictive analytics applications to provide insights
to multiple users throughout an organization. It currently provides
industry-specific optimization and predictive solutions in vertical
industries including Power & Gas, Financial Services, Retail,
Manufacturing and Communications. i4C is a privately held company with
over 70 employees. It is headquartered in Milan, Italy, with offices in
Bologna and Rome and a presence in the UK.

"I'm incredibly proud of the work we've done and the team we've built at
i4C over the last 12 years," said Fabio Nalucci, co-owner and chief
executive officer of i4C. "We believe that what we've built offers a
uniquely accessible analytics solution for clients, and are incredibly
excited that Accenture has recognized that and is investing in it. We
have seen Accenture's focus on helping its clients become digital
businesses. Together, we will be able to reach more industries in more
countries with an advanced analytics solution that will change the way
business processes operate, and speed up powerful decision making to
help our clients thrive."

Completion of the acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of
customary closing conditions.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with approximately 289,000 people serving clients
in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience,
comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions,
and extensive research on the world's most successful companies,
Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance
businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of
US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page
is www.accenture.com.

Accenture Digital, comprised of Accenture
Analytics, Accenture
Interactive and Accenture
Mobility, offers a comprehensive portfolio of business and
technology services across digital marketing, mobility and analytics.
From developing digital strategies to implementing digital technologies
and running digital processes on their behalf, Accenture Digital helps
clients leverage connected and mobile devices; extract insights from
data using analytics; and enrich end-customer experiences and
interactions, delivering tangible results from the virtual world and
driving growth. Learn more about Accenture Digital at www.accenture.com/digital.

Accenture Analytics, part of Accenture
Digital, delivers insight-driven outcomes at scale to help
organizations improve their performance. With deep industry, functional,
business process and technical experience, Accenture Analytics develops
innovative consulting and outsourcing services for clients to help
ensure they receive returns on their analytics investments. For more
information follow us @ISpeakAnalytics
and visit www.accenture.com/analytics.

About i4C

i4C is a privately held Analytics software vendor with more than 70
employees and 60 clients in the energy, finance, retail, communications
and manufacturing industries across Europe. It is headquartered in
Milan, Italy, with offices in Bologna and Rome and a presence in the UK.
Founded in 2002, i4C is focused on Advanced Analytics. Using our
Application Configuration Environment (ACE) and a series of
industry-specific Advanced Analytics Applications (AAAs), i4C helps
organizations solve complex problems and achieve objectives such as
reducing costs, increasing revenues and maximizing margins. For more
information, please visit www.i4canalytics.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein,
statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely,"
"anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes,"
"estimates," "positioned," "outlook" and similar expressions are used to
identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These
include, without limitation, risks that: the company and i4C will not be
able to close the transaction in the time period anticipated, or at all,
which is dependent on the parties' ability to satisfy certain closing
conditions; the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits
for the company; the company's results of operations could be adversely
affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic conditions and the
effects of these conditions on the company's clients' businesses and
levels of business activity; the company's business depends on
generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the
company's services and solutions, and a significant reduction in such
demand could materially affect the company's results of operations; if
the company is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in
balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain
professionals with strong leadership skills, the company's business, the
utilization rate of the company's professionals and the company's
results of operations may be materially adversely affected; the markets
in which the company competes are highly competitive, and the company
might not be able to compete effectively; the company's profitability
could suffer if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful, and the
company may not be able to improve its profitability through
improvements to cost-management to the degree it has done in the past;
the company's results of operations could materially suffer if the
company is not able to obtain sufficient pricing to enable it to meet
its profitability expectations; if the company's pricing estimates do
not accurately anticipate the cost, risk and complexity of the company
performing its work or third parties upon whom it relies do not meet
their commitments, then the company's contracts could have delivery
inefficiencies and be unprofitable; the company could have liability or
the company's reputation could be damaged if the company fails to
protect client and/or company data or information systems as obligated
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the company's results of operations and ability to grow could be
materially negatively affected if the company cannot adapt and expand
its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology
and offerings by new entrants; as a result of the company's
geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue
geographic expansion, the company is more susceptible to certain risks;
the company's Global Delivery Network is increasingly concentrated in
India and the Philippines, which may expose it to operational risks; the
company might not be successful at identifying, acquiring or integrating
businesses or entering into joint ventures; the company's work with
government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in
the government contracting environment; the company's business could be
materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; the
company's results of operations could be materially adversely affected
by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the company's
alliance relationships may not be successful or may change, which could
adversely affect the company's results of operations; outsourcing
services and the continued expansion of the company's other services and
solutions into new areas subject the company to different operational
risks than its consulting and systems integration services; the
company's services or solutions could infringe upon the intellectual
property rights of others or the company might lose its ability to
utilize the intellectual property of others; if the company is unable to
protect its intellectual property rights from unauthorized use or
infringement by third parties, its business could be adversely affected;
the company's ability to attract and retain business and employees may
depend on its reputation in the marketplace; many of the company's
contracts include payments that link some of its fees to the attainment
of performance or business targets and/or require the company to meet
specific service levels, which could increase the variability of the
company's revenues and impact its margins; changes in the company's
level of taxes, and audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or
changes in the company's treatment as an Irish company, could have a
material adverse effect on the company's results of operations and
financial condition; if the company is unable to manage the
organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be
unable to achieve its business objectives; if the company is unable to
collect its receivables or unbilled services, the company's results of
operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely
affected; the company's share price and results of operations could
fluctuate and be difficult to predict; the company's results of
operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable
to maintain effective internal controls; any changes to the estimates
and assumptions that the company makes in connection with the
preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely
affect its financial results; the company may be subject to criticism
and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well
as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the "Risk
Factors" heading in Accenture plc's most recent annual report on Form
10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of
the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any
forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such
statements to actual results or changes in Accenture's expectations.